Can't Leave

by Chironex27

Prequel to Don't Leave the Office. In the games, the player sees through the perspective of the night guards, but this focuses on the perspectives of the spirits in the animatronics throughout the years. Big thanks to Reading a Pulse for help in characterization (especially with the Mangle) and advice on story. Rated T for implied violence against children.

7. What does a mother fear?

Robbie and Will's mother came back to one of the most frightening sights that a parent can see. Her sons, along with all of their friends, weren't at the table. She calmed herself down quickly enough, assuring herself that they had simply ignored what she had asked of them and had gone off to play more games. Mrs. Garen really wished that they would listen to her more; she didn't want to get angry with Will on his birthday. She looked around, trying to find one of the children. However, it seemed as if there were hardly any other kids left in the store. Those remaining were being taken away by their parents, either whining to stay longer or too tired to whine. Her suspicion was confirmed with the animatronics' closing lines:

"Well kids, I hope you enjoyed the show, because I sure know I did! Feel free to come back any time!"

The animatronics filed off of the stage.

Mrs. Garen was starting to panic again. She looked everywhere she could; at the Bathrooms, the arcade, outside the Kitchen, but she couldn't find any trace of the kids. She stopped a passing store employee. He hadn't seen anything. Her fear and anxiety continued to grow. She tried to calm down. This was just a big mess; the kids had to be around here somewhere. She was sure that they'd find the kids scattered around the store, giving off last minute excuses. Mrs. Garen had to remember that when she found the children not to take her anxiety out on them, she would just need to give Will and Robbie a talk about making sure that they did what she told them in the future. She'd explain that sometimes when kids wandered off, they could get into trouble, and if she didn't know where they were, she couldn't help them. But they wouldn't be in any trouble. They'd just be running around the store somewhere, oblivious to the fact that they were giving their mother gray hair.

However, after Mrs. Garen had talked to the other store employees, including the manager, she began to suspect something was wrong. It was past midnight by this point. Eventually, the manager called the police to try to calm Mrs. Garen down, though their arrival only added to the idea that something was terribly, terribly wrong. But there couldn't be, this kind of thing wouldn't happen to her, this was just something that you heard about in the news…to other people. Mrs. Garen clung to this illusion until the morning, when the police told her that the children were missing, but they had caught the person they believed responsible. Their assurances that the man was guilty didn't help Mrs. Garen. They only confirmed the worst possibility to her.